UKRAINIAN FLAG RAISED AFTER RUSSIAN MILITARY RETREATS FROM SNAKE ISLAND

Mon 04 July 2022:

The key outpost in the Black Sea known as Snake Island has been in the news a lot lately since Russian forces abandoned their position following months of intense pounding.

On Monday, Ukrainian military raised their country’s flag on the island for the first time in a significant development.

“The military operation has been concluded, and … the territory, Snake Island, has been returned to the jurisdiction of Ukraine,” Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern military command, told reporters according to The Guardian.

While the Russian troops have completely deserted the island, the area near the Black Sea is still being considered as a “grey zone” by the Ukrainian authorities. A military official confirmed it to The Guardian that they will not be positioning a major number of forces in the area.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also said that the area’s safety is not guaranteed by the pull back of the Russian forces. However, he hailed it as a step forward in the ongoing crisis.

“Step by step, we will push [Russia] out of our sea, our land, our sky,” Zelensky said.

Russia has also been accused by Ukraine with using phosphorous bombs in the region. According to AFP, the Ukrainian troops reported that “today at around 18:00… Russian air force SU-30 planes twice conducted strikes with phosphorus bombs on Zmiinyi island,”

A global treaty forbids the use of phosphorus bombs, which are incendiary weapons that leave a distinct white trail after being detonated.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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